James Pearce has reiterated Liverpool’s stance with regard to ongoing contract negotiations with Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah.
The legendary Reds figures are, as things currently stand, set to depart the club in the summer when their contracts are due to expire.
We’re led to believe that progress is being made on both fronts, with the Merseyside giants reportedly confident of sealing contract extensions for the beloved duo.
Liverpool protecting themselves over Van Dijk & Salah contracts
Pearce remains confident that Van Dijk and Salah will commit their futures to Liverpool beyond the 2024/25 season.
The former Southampton star has recently made noises to that effect in the wake of a disappointing 3-2 defeat to Fulham in the Premier League.
However, there were some concerns expressed over our Egyptian King’s recent struggle for form.
“I still think the most likely scenario is that they both stay,” the Athletic reporter spoke on the Walk On Podcast.
“But, yeah, I’d say out of the two, I’d say Salah’s drop-off over the last month or two worries me a lot more than Van Dijk’s, because I think Van Dijk has just had a difficult week. I think Salah has had a pretty tough month.
“Maybe it’s just the sheer workload! We’re reaching the back end of the season. These players have probably played the best part of 50-odd games for their club [and] all the international commitments on top of that.”
The No.11 has registered 54 goal contributions in 34 games (across all competitions this term) but has yet to hit the back of the net since the end of the international break.
Mo Salah’s form is a concern
We’d be foolish to completely overlook the sudden drop-off in impact in recent weeks – even taking into account the perfectly valid reality that we’re now in the tail-end of the season.
“For a player that has caused so many problems so frequently for defenders as Salah has this season,” James Pearce went on to add.
“The fact that his only goals in his last seven were the two penalties against Southampton – and it’s not like he’s being denied by worldie performances from goalkeepers or misfortune. He’s actually not having the same kind of impact on games as he was.”
That said, we likewise can’t help but notice that there is at least some correlation between Mo Salah’s struggles and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s injury-enforced absence from the right flank.
The England international was, admittedly, present for both rounds of our two-legged Champions League clash with PSG (in which our right-sided winger failed to register a goal or assist).
However, there’s a noticeable statistical drop-off in the quality of our Egyptian’s performances after our European exit.
Game
Average rating
Goal contributions
Trent Alexander-Arnold available
Man City (A)
8.9/10
2
Yes
Newcastle (H)
7.2/10
1
Yes
PSG (A)
6/10
0
Yes
Southampton (H)
8.3/10
2 (penalties)
Yes
PSG (H)
7.3/10
0
Yes (injury)
Newcastle (Carabao Cup final)
6.6/10
0
No
Everton (H)
6.2/10
0
No
Fulham (A)
6.2/10
0
No
* Stats courtesy of Sofascore
It’s probably not a big enough pool of data to be 100% conclusive, but it’s worth highlighting that Mo Salah has averaged a rating of 6.3/10 in the three games following Trent’s injury.
Across his five prior games, his average rating stands at a more respectable 7.54/10.
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